Bellman & Black: A Novel
#1 New York Times bestselling author
“An astonishing work of genius.” —Bookreporter
“Magically transformative.” —Bookpage
Can one moment in time haunt you forever?
From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “poetic and mysterious” (Booklist) gothic historical novel that will haunt you to your very core.
Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget…
Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business.
And Bellman & Black is born.
“An astonishing work of genius.” —Bookreporter
“Magically transformative.” —Bookpage
Can one moment in time haunt you forever?
From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale comes a “poetic and mysterious” (Booklist) gothic historical novel that will haunt you to your very core.
Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget…
Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn—and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business.
And Bellman & Black is born.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I was so excited about a new offering from Diane Setterfield and downloaded this one the day it came out. I am sorry to have to say, I did not love it any where near as much as I loved The Thirteenth Tale. Don't get me wrong, the writing itself is beautiful and rich with description. The characters are well portrayed. It is just the plot itself that seems off.
The story deals with William Bellman from his boyhood in a small village in England until his death, many years later. There was a strange incident when he was a boy where he managed to kill a rook sitting in a tree, with his slingshot. This was something that gave him some notoriety among the boys, since it is very hard to kill these clever birds, but always made him feel terribly guilty. This guilt pervades his entire life and casts a pall over any happiness he deserves.
His father, a second son who would never inherit, took off when Will was a baby and the boy was taken under the wing of his uncle Charles, owner of a prosperous woolen mill. Will makes himself invaluable in the mill and soon marries and has a house full of children. When his mother dies, Will sees a stranger at the funeral who shows up again and again at family funerals, but Will is never able to figure out who he is, so he dubs him Mr. Black.
I don't want to give too much away, but William becomes very successful and suffers many tragedies in his life, but that dead bird never leaves his thoughts or the readers'. The writing is what kept me reading this long book, but sadly, it wasn't a satisfying story.
The story deals with William Bellman from his boyhood in a small village in England until his death, many years later. There was a strange incident when he was a boy where he managed to kill a rook sitting in a tree, with his slingshot. This was something that gave him some notoriety among the boys, since it is very hard to kill these clever birds, but always made him feel terribly guilty. This guilt pervades his entire life and casts a pall over any happiness he deserves.
His father, a second son who would never inherit, took off when Will was a baby and the boy was taken under the wing of his uncle Charles, owner of a prosperous woolen mill. Will makes himself invaluable in the mill and soon marries and has a house full of children. When his mother dies, Will sees a stranger at the funeral who shows up again and again at family funerals, but Will is never able to figure out who he is, so he dubs him Mr. Black.
I don't want to give too much away, but William becomes very successful and suffers many tragedies in his life, but that dead bird never leaves his thoughts or the readers'. The writing is what kept me reading this long book, but sadly, it wasn't a satisfying story.
Bellman and Black has a fairly decent story, but the real glamour is in the language. It's told in an utterly beautiful, charming style that reads like an old 1920's tale. I liked the main character, was intrigued with Mr. Black, and found myself highlighting 20 gorgeous passages. The tale itself is rather slow, but if you want to read beautiful prose, this is the book for you.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.